Watch List notes:

Potosi, Bolivia, cob 8 reales Royal, 1687VR, from a colonial-era (mid-1700s) fort site in Massachusetts. S-P40; KM-R26; CT-325. 26.60 grams. Choice bold VF with toned fields, full details, one of the most beautiful Royals you could hope for within the grade level but with tiny hole at top of pillars, which presents some interesting archeological observations in light of its origin, namely that holes were being put in such coins in the colonial period (as opposed to the 1800s) and not just for wearing cross-side out. A little more history from Eidel's notes: "This cob was unearthed by a metal detector in 1988... at the site of an early colonial fort built along the banks of the Connecticut River in the Western part of Massachusetts. The fort served as protection for English Colonists in the French & Indian War. This cob is the first Royal ever to be found on the mainland of the United States." Die match with Lazaro #221. Pedigreed to the Charles Eidel collection, with hand-signed letter from Frank Sedwick from 1988. ($5000-7500)